


With Friends Like These

by amporasbitch



Category: Real Person Fiction, Youtube RPF
Genre: Angst, Angst with a Happy Ending, Blood, Gen, Head Injury, Hurt/Comfort, Self-Blame, Sparring, Strangulation, Violence, Whump, accidental injury
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-12-06
Updated: 2018-12-13
Packaged: 2019-09-12 13:38:41
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 5
Words: 12,670
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/16873890
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/amporasbitch/pseuds/amporasbitch
Summary: Yandereplier and Chrome love sparring in the dojo. It's a great way for them to get out some aggression, practice their fighting skills, and have fun, but it's not without risk.It's common for accidents to happen, but their friendship is tested after one accident hurts them worse than ever before.





	1. Chapter 1

**Author's Note:**

> Yan and Chrome are bffs and you can't change my mind
> 
> ...despite this chapter's contents >.>"
> 
> Enjoy!

Right hook incoming. Duck, stab forward. Deflected. Knee up. Caught, pulled, knocked onto back.

“You can do better than that, can’t you?” Chrome asks, standing over Yandere.

“I’m just getting started,” Yandere coughs, but grins, full of fire and excitement.

“Good.” Chrome answers with a smirk of his own, holding out a hand to help Yandere up.

Yandere takes it, hauls himself up, and gets into a fighting stance, adjusting his grip on his katana.

“Ready?”

“Always.”

And they go at it again.

Yandere loves sparring with Chrome. He can’t get enough of the feeling, of the blood pounding in his ears, the electricity in his veins. The dance of the battle that doesn’t stop, doesn’t pause until one of them goes down, letting it start all over again. It’s just as productive as it is fun; Yandere gets to practice his skills against a worthy opponent, and Chrome gets out the aggression that seems to continuously build up within him.

If Yandere is being honest, most of his fights with humans are uneventful and easily won. Every once in a while one catches him by surprise or turns out to be tougher than expected, but Yandere could fight most of them in his sleep. Nine times out of ten, his katana shreds them like paper before they can land more than a couple hits. Yandere knows, though, that easy fights don’t make him stronger, the same way walking three steps doesn’t make one fit. His dojo was created as a space for him to improve his abilities, and once he befriended Chrome, he finally had a good sparring partner.

So now the pair spars once again, battling across the space of the dojo, throwing punches, slicing, blocking, deflecting, redirecting. Yandere fights like he’s dancing, graceful twirls and spins, letting each movement flow from the next. His katana is like an extra arm, reaching out to slice and stab instead of punch. He’s light on his feet, quick to dodge, sometimes running literal circles around Chrome to find the right place to land a hit. Chrome, meanwhile, is a straightforward fighter. He can afford to be slower, giving every movement a distinct purpose. His limitless database gives him the ability to see the best way to punch, the best direction to sidestep, the right time to dodge. He sees every opening, uses every opportunity he can to land hits. One thing they both have in common is their intensity: Neither of them hold back. They’re already each sporting a few bruises, scrapes, cuts, and no doubt will have many more by the end. Chrome fights with his lips either in a solemn, serious line or an almost cruel grin. Yandere’s eyes are bright red, his smile manic. There’s no self-control, no measured pace. There’s hardly any defense, either; every block is the precursor to another hit.

It’s lucky they have their own room designed for these fights. They would have destroyed every other room in Ego, Inc. by now otherwise. But little do either of them know, the dojo is beginning to show its own wear and tear. Every time one of them is knocked or forced against a wall, the weapons displayed on it shake ever so slightly. On the left wall in particular, one weapon is poised to shake loose. It’s an impressive _kanabo_ ; a heavy thing made of iron, shaped like a baseball bat but much stronger. The thicker end is peppered with spikes, meant to cut as well as bludgeon. But the weapon is on the whole designed to smash, to break, and as it’s jostled from its place on the wall, every passing moment makes it closer to falling and doing just that.

And today is the today it finally will.

It’s a perfect storm. Yandere uses his speed and adrenaline, pushing Chrome back with light blow after light blow. Chrome blocks and blocks, but starts to lose balance. Yandere uses all his saved-up energy on his next swing, knocking Chrome back. The momentum doubled with Chrome’s loss of balance sends him slamming into the left wall. The hard blow shakes the kanabo yet again, and it finally falls, heavy end tilting down ahead of the rest. Before either Chrome or Yandere can react, it crashes into Chrome’s head.

Yandere yelps, shocked, but Chrome is out cold before he has the chance to make a sound.

“Oh no, Aka-kun!!” Yandere cries, running to his friend.

He’s never used the kanabo himself; it’s far too heavy for him to wield properly without years of practice. But he knows how it works, how it’s used for cracking armor and breaking bones. He can see sparks flickering from an awful gash in Chrome’s head, and start to smell the motor oil leaking out of the wound, dampening his hair. This isn’t the first time one of them has been badly hurt while they were sparring, but as far as Yandere can recall, it’s the worst.

“Aka-kun, wake up!” Yandere pleads, hands hovering over Chrome’s head, unsure of how to help. He has a phone, but he doesn’t have the number of any of the Googles. Plus and Oliver are probably two floors down in the control room, and Google is probably still in today’s meeting among the older egos one floor down in the conference room. Yandere knows he should get one of them, but he doesn’t want to leave Chrome alone. Maybe he can take him downstairs himself? He can’t do that unless Chrome wakes up enough to walk with him and support at least some of his own weight. Yandere is smaller than Chrome and Chrome is denser and heavier than he looks; Yandere can’t exactly carry him.

Finally, Chrome seems to come around. His eyes slowly open and he stirs. Yandere is so relieved he doesn’t notice the jerkiness in his movements.

“Aka-kun, are you okay??” Yandere asks, “I’m so so sorry, I didn’t mean to hurt you like that! Can you stand? Can you walk? We have to go to the control room!”

Chrome doesn’t speak. He simply stares straight ahead, as if he’s internally buffering. He might be, for all Yandere knows. A long moment passes like this, with Chrome’s wound continuing to shoot off sparks and Yandere getting more and more concerned.

“Aka-kun?” he asks cautiously.

Finally, Chrome blinks.

“G00GL3_UN17_002R3D online,” he says, voice monotone, “Primary objective is–”

What comes out of his mouth next is an unholy, metallic screech, combining the worst parts of high-pitched white noise and beeping dial-up. The cacophonous sound is so loud that Yandere is forced to stagger backwards, slapping his hands over his ears. It does little to block out the noise, though.

“Aka-kun, stop!” Yandere shouts over the mechanical scream. If he wasn’t worried about his friend before, he certainly is now.

Several long moments later, just as Yandere’s ears are beginning to hurt, the screech suddenly stops. All Yandere can hear is Chrome’s core whirring harshly.

“Aka-kun?” Yandere asks.

“Prrrrimar-ary objecti-i-i-i-ve corruuupted,” Chrome says, voice glitching wildly, “Accessinnnng second-d-d-dary object-tive.”

Yandere feels dread creeping into his stomach as Chrome’s core continues to hum.

“Seconnnndary obje-e-e-ctive is toooo destr-tr-tr-troy mankiiiind,” Chrome finally says.

“ _Kuso_ ,” Yandere gasps.

Chrome staggers to his feet. Oil slides off his head as he moves, through his hair and down his neck, staining his shirt. His movements are jerky, as glitchy as his voice was. He looks at Yandere, eyes glowing red. His expression is blank.

“Aka-kun…?” Yandere asks nervously.

Chrome takes a single step forward.

Yandere bolts.

He flees the dojo and runs for the stairwell as fast as he can go. Chrome has malfunctioned, he realizes, and badly at that. Yandere’s never seen Chrome like this before and he doesn’t want to stick around to see more. He has to get to the control room. If he can make it there, the other Googles can subdue Chrome and fix him. Yandere can hear Chrome’s running footsteps behind him, spurring him on. He runs past the elevator. Should he take that instead of the stairs? No, this is faster, less risky–

Even Yandere’s single moment of hesitation is too much, and he finds out when he feels Chrome’s hand snatch the back of his shirt collar. Chrome yanks him backward, pulling him off his feet too fast for Yandere to even struggle.

“Aka-kun–!” Yandere shouts, cut off with a sharp gasp as he’s thrown to the ground.

Chrome looms over him with the same red-eyed, blank-faced expression he had in the dojo. Yandere wheezes, trying to get breath back and run away again, but his heart is racing too much.

“Aka-kun, please, you have to know who I am!” Yandere cries, knowing it’s fruitless.

Instead of hurting him, Chrome suddenly lurches back, reaching up to grab his head, hand hovering over his wound. His body glitches, spasming in pain. Even now, Yandere feels a pang of sympathy, but it doesn’t stop him from using the opportunity to force himself up and run past Chrome, rushing for the stairwell.

This time it’s not hesitating that gets him, but the split second it takes him to open the door. Chrome, apparently recovered, grabs him again, this time dragging him away by his collar instead of throwing him down.

“Aka-kun, ghk–!” Yandere gasps, nearly choking as he’s pulled along, trying to wiggle free without hurting himself.

Chrome, the whole time, is utterly silent.

When Yandere is finally released, he scrambles to his feet to find himself in the dojo again.

_Of course. This is where all the weapons are._

In the time it took Yandere to get up, Chrome has picked up the same kanabo that fell on his head and begun to advance upon Yandere. The situation is moving so fast that even Yandere is dizzied by it, unable to keep up.

“Aka-kun, come on, you’re hurt, you’re not yourself right now–”

Yandere’s cut off again, this time by Chrome rushing at him with the kanabo. He whips out his katana at the last moment. The resounding bang of the two weapons colliding rattles Yandere’s bones. He blocks every hit, looking for an opening of his own, but unable to find one.

Truthfully, it’s not entirely accurate to say that they don’t hold back when they spar. They don’t go easy on each other, surely, and they aren’t afraid to bruise and batter each other, but their intent is never to maim or kill. Yandere never aims for Chrome’s neck or heart with his katana, and Chrome keeps his strength measured so he doesn’t break Yandere’s bones with every punch. There’s times when the heat of battle gets to their heads and makes one of them go too far, but those times are always accidents, and those times always end the fight immediately.

But Chrome won’t hold back like this, hell, he _isn’t_ holding back like this. He uses all his strength, all his speed to bear down on Yandere again and again. The only reason he hasn’t killed him already, Yandere thinks, is that even while malfunctioning he hasn’t lost his love for a good fight, for a well-won battle. Yandere doesn’t hold back either, his survival instincts won’t allow it. But it doesn’t count for much now that he’s already in the defensive. Yandere can’t get more than glancing cuts with his katana in before he’s forced to shield himself, over and over.

Maybe that’s not true. There’s moments when Chrome flinches, spasms as his injury makes him glitch. They’re only moments, but they’re moments when Yandere could stab through Chrome’s core, or slice his neck into two parts. But how could he? How could Yandere ever kill Chrome? How could he hurt him when he’s already so badly injured? The gash in Chrome’s head hasn’t stopped sparking since he got it. It’s bad; it has to be to have caused Chrome to malfunction like this. As much as Yandere wants to survive, he doesn’t want to hurt Chrome any worse.

Maybe Yandere doesn’t fight hard enough, or maybe Chrome is just too powerful, but he finally brings the kanabo up and around in a devastating arc. Yandere dodges, hopping away just in time, but the kanabo doesn’t stop. Its furious momentum would send it right out of a human’s grip, but Chrome keeps his hold on it, letting it carry its own weight, before swinging it back the way it came. Yandere has a split second to observe how oddly graceful the movement is before–

_Crack!_

The side of Yandere’s face explodes in pain, so acute he barely feels himself hit the floor. His eyes squeeze shut. The pain is too hot, too bright, soaring up his cheeks and through his jaw. He can almost feel exactly how the bones have splintered, exactly where in his cheeks they’ve pierced. His mouth fills up with blood, and maybe a few teeth, almost instantaneously. He can’t scream, he can’t even moan. After what feels like an eternity, he manages to pry his eyes open.

Chrome is over him again, much closer this time, straddling Yandere’s waist. His expression hasn’t changed, his eyes haven’t stopped glowing. The kanabo is gone, and Yandere is glad for it, but he fears what Chrome will do next. His objective is to destroy, after all, and Yandere isn’t dead just yet.

“Aka…” Yandere gasps, blood spilling out of his mouth.

Chrome replies by wrapping his hands around Yandere’s throat and squeezing.

Yandere gasps–sputters, more like–and instantly grabs Chrome’s wrists. He digs his nails into his synthetic skin and kicks his legs wildly beneath him. But it’s like trying to get a reaction out of a brick wall; Chrome doesn’t so much as flinch. He continues squeezing Yandere’s neck with that unnerving, blank expression still on his face, but Yandere barely notices.

All Yandere can think is that he _can’t breathe._

He couldn’t breathe that well to begin with, given the blood in his mouth and nose and his loose, cracked jawbone, all courtesy of the kanabo. But this is much, much worse. Chrome’s hands are so tight around his throat Yandere thinks they might snap his neck, and he can’t manage more than thin, ugly wheezes. His katana and the kanabo are too far away for him to grab. Yandere continues to struggle, to drag his nails over Chrome’s wrists, to kick and buck against him, but Chrome doesn’t move. Yandere’s fear gives way to panic as a burn builds up in his lungs. His movements become wild, flailing. His back arches, his mouth gapes open involuntarily, searching for air.

Yandere gets one last moment of reprieve as Chrome adjusts his grip.

“Ak...khh…”

Then Chrome’s grip is so tight that Yandere knows something breaks, he can _feel_ something burst in his throat, but the fire in his starved lungs distracts from any pain. His hands fall away from Chrome’s wrists and his legs still. He can’t concentrate enough to get them moving again. It’s impossible to think at all. He can only lay there, twitching, as his best friend chokes the life out of him.

Yandere’s vision goes spotty, then gray, then black.


	2. Chapter 2

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> A few new people are entering the situation this chapter, which is both good and bad :p Not much else to say about this chapter, except that I hope it provides some good banter.
> 
> Enjoy!

The odd sounds coming from the top floor don’t escape the notice of anyone at the meeting, least of all Dark.

Most of the other egos aren’t terribly concerned; loud, unexpected noises are commonplace at Ego, Inc., and as long as it isn’t coming from the floor they or someone they're close to lives on, they’re content to ignore it. For Dark, though, the fifth floor houses someone he very much cares for, and he recalls said someone mentioning that he’d be sparring with Chrome today.

Judging by Google’s pensive expression, he seems to be thinking about the same thing.

The meeting ends barely a minute after the sounds stop, and Dark teleports himself directly to the doorway of the dojo (he’s already learned not to teleport directly into the room while people are sparring in it). The door is half open, which is unusual, and there’s no longer any noise at all coming from inside, which is even more unusual.

Dark pushes the door open to see Chrome straddling Yandere, choking him, and Yandere lying on the floor, silent and twitching minutely. There’s a pool of blood next his head, soaking his hair.

Dark roars with fury, aura rearing up like a cobra. Chrome turns his head to look at him, and Dark sees his blank stare and glowing eyes. Dark sends his aura rushing at Chrome with a wave of his fingers. It seizes him and pulls him up, and Chrome thrashes, glitchy and uncoordinated. A flick of Dark’s wrist sends Chrome flying into the far wall, where he crashes so hard he leaves a dent. When Dark’s aura releases him, he crumbles into a heap and doesn’t get back up. Dark doesn’t notice; he’s too busy rushing to Yandere’s side.

“Oh, love,” he murmurs, kneeling down to him, “What has he done to you?” There’s too much blood on his face for Dark to wipe away, and deep bruises in the distinct shape of handprints span over his neck. Dark gingerly presses two fingers there to find his pulse, leans over his bloody mouth to hear his breathing. Yandere’s pulse is slow and inconsistent, and his breathing is wheezy and labored. But he’s alive, at least, and Dark lets himself sigh in relief.

It’s then that he hears the footsteps of someone entering the dojo, and looks up to see Google. Google looks back, but only for a moment, as he scans the room and quickly sees Chrome. He marches to him, almost running, and looks him over. A growl works its way out of his throat.

“What did you  _ do? _ ” he asks Dark, seething.

“I’d like to ask Chrome the same thing,” Dark bites back, “Considering Yandere’s condition. And I’ll have you know that the injury you’re staring at was not my doing.”

“So it was Yandere’s, then,” Google gripes, “All you did was throw him against a wall, I guess.”

“Don’t take that tone with me, Google,” Dark warns, standing up to glare down at him. “Besides, I have no doubt that Yandere did that in self-defense, considering he was being  _ strangled. _ ”

“Chrome would never hurt Yandere,” Google growls, standing as well.

“I saw him squeezing the life out of Yandere with my own eyes,” Dark replies, anger simmering in his voice, “Why do you think I threw him against the wall?”

“Yandere must have attacked him first,” Google counters. He points to a weapon on the floor, long and thick and spiked, covered in oil. “He had to have used that.”

“Interesting that Yandere has a bad wound similar to Chrome’s, isn’t it?” Dark asks through gritted teeth, “Almost as if Chrome could have used the same weapon to hurt Yandere.”

“Which he would  _ never _ do without good reason.”

Dark strides up to Google, getting in his face to stare him down.

“And you think Yandere would??”

“They have sparring accidents all the time.” Google’s voice is flat yet boiling with rage. “Yandere is erratic and unstable. He must have gone too far.”

“Yandere is not the killer android in the room, Google,” Dark replies, voice icy. “You are blinded by the fact that he is your  _ brother _ .” Dark spits the word like it means nothing.

“And  _ you  _ aren't blinded by the fact that Yandere is your  _ boyfriend? _ ” Google spits the word the same way.

“Chrome is violent and prone to aggression!”

“So is Yandere!”

“Yandere knows better than to provoke Chrome!”

“Chrome cares too much about Yandere to even  _ think  _ of hurting him without reason, and you know that as well as I do!”

“If you think for one second that–”

“Both of you  _ stop! _ ”

Dark and Google both turn to see Dr. Iplier standing in the doorway of the dojo. Dark blinks in surprise; he hadn’t even heard him arrive.

“How did you know to come here?” Dark asks him.

“I heard the racket coming from here, too,” Dr. Iplier replies, “And I saw you teleport away and Google rush out, and I put two and two together.” He sighs. “I didn’t expect to find you two  _ yelling _ at each other, though.”

“That’s none of your concern,” Dark mutters.

“Yes,” Google says, turning back to Dark, “It is  _ your _ concern, because Yandere–”

“You know  _ nothing _ about Yandere!”

“You don’t know anything about Chrome!”

“I know that he’s naturally cruel, and that he likes to ki–”

_ “Hey!”  _ Dr. Iplier yells over them, furious, “ _ Enough _ already!! Every second you two spend arguing is another second Yan and Chrome have to wait to get help! They’re both bleeding out on the floor while you two yell at each other like children! I don’t know about  _ you, _ but  _ I _ came here to  _ help _ them, not have a dick-measuring contest!”

“Doctor–” Dark starts, warning.

“I’m not  _ done. _ ” Dr. Iplier sighs and runs a hand through his hair. “Look, I get that you both want to know what happened, and neither of you want to believe your loved one caused this. But the fact of the matter is that only Yan and Chrome know what happened, and if you two don’t pull your heads out of your asses and actually  _ help _ them, they won’t survive long enough to tell us!”

A long pause.

“We can check the security cameras…” Google mumbles, put out.

_ “Or,” _ Dr. Iplier continues, voice tight, “ _ You _ can take Chrome back to the control room and fix him, and  _ you– _ ” He points at Dark. “–Can help me take Yan to the clinic.” He peers around Google to look at Chrome, still laying on the floor. After a moment, he looks at Google again. “You have two hours, not including any fluctuations that may happen in that time. Get going.”

Google clearly bristles at being ordered, but he walks off to Chrome anyway, and Dr. Iplier rushes to Yandere. Dark follows the doctor, exchanging one last poisonous glare with Google as the android scoops up his brother and carries him away. Dark decides Google will need to be punished for the way he spoke to him earlier, but for now, he turns his attention back to Dr. Iplier and Yandere. Dr. Iplier kneels down beside Yandere, taking his pulse just like Dark did before. Dark watches Dr. Iplier’s eyes flick towards just over Yandere’s head where his remaining time lies. In an instant, a huge measure of tension leaves his body.

“We’ve got about an hour still, but we can’t waste anymore time.” Dr. Iplier looks expectantly at Dark.

Dark teleports them all to the clinic in the blink of an eye, and Dr. Iplier whisks Yandere into surgery nearly as fast.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> No matter what kind of insanity goes down, Dr. Iplier knows how to keep it real :3
> 
> This'll continue to be updated every other day until it's finished, so see you Sunday!
> 
> Edit: The lovely monster-king-gavin on Tumblr made a gif (loosely) based on a scene in this chapter! Here's the link to check it out: http://monster-king-gavin.tumblr.com/post/180910194234/juju-on-that-yeet-spookyscarydarky-i-did-this-as


	3. Chapter 3

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Finally, I tell you if the boys are alright XD This chapter is a nice break from the angst, so enjoy it while it lasts ;)
> 
> Happy reading!

When Yandere wakes up, he feels foggy. His mind is swimming and he can’t open his eyes. For a long moment, he wonders if he’s dead.

No, if he were dead, he’d ironically be in a lot more pain. Not that he isn’t already in pain; the side of his face is throbbing, and his neck feels like he slept on it wrong for a hundred years. He moves his tongue around in his mouth and feels stitches, gauze, a few holes where teeth used to be, and something metal attached to his gums. He recognizes the groggy, numb feeling caused by morphine in his systems, making him drowsy. Eventually, he opens his eyes, and almost immediately closes them against the bright hospital lights. That’s when he hears movement from beside him, and then a voice.

“Oh, sorry hon, let me just…”

Yandere hears a few footsteps, then a light switch flicking off.

“There, that should be better. Can you open your eyes again?”

Yandere does, and he sees that the room is indeed dimmer. He also sees Dr. Iplier sitting in a chair beside his bed. Some of the tension Yandere wasn’t aware was in him drains away; he’s in the clinic, he’s safe. Dr. Iplier smiles at him and ever so gently strokes his hair, keeping his hand on the uninjured side of Yandere’s head.

“I’m so glad you’re okay, kiddo,” Dr. Iplier murmurs, “You were in pretty bad shape.” He shakes his head. “Skull fracture, shattered jawbone, concussion, missing teeth and lacerations, not to mention the bruising and the tear in your esophagus.”

That must have been the burst Yandere felt in his throat before, and the strange, uncomfortable sensation he feels in it now.

“I don’t want you trying to talk right now,” Dr. Iplier continues, “You wouldn’t be able to talk much, anyway, with everything going on here.” He gestures to the injured side of Yandere’s face. “If you were a human you’d never talk right again, but even as a figment, you’ll be recovering for a while.”

Yandere would frown if he felt he knew how to with half his face out of commission. He settles for furrowing his brow instead.

“I know, hon,” Dr. Iplier says in response, smiling sympathetically and giving Yandere’s hair a gentle ruffle. “I promise you’ll be able to talk a bit in a few days, but we’ll have to see how you heal. In the meantime, I did get this…”

Dr. Iplier pulls away from Yandere to grab something on the nightstand. Yandere is handed a plain red notepad, with small tear-away pages, and a retractable pen.

“I know you like red, so this was the best I could do without leaving the clinic,” Dr. Iplier says.

Yandere clicks the pen, writes something, and holds it to Dr. Iplier:

_ Thanks, Dad :) _

Dr. Iplier beams, but also looks like he might cry.

“Aw, no problem, sweetheart,” he murmurs. He takes one of Yandere’s hands in his, the one not holding the pen, and brings it to his lips, softly kissing Yandere’s knuckles. “I love you so much, son.”

Warmth surges through Yandere’s body, overcoming the pain for a brief moment. It doesn’t escape his notice how _ careful  _ Dr. Iplier is being with him. He can’t help but smile a little automatically, even if it stretches the bandages uncomfortably and makes his cheek ache. He uses his free hand to write on the notepad again.

_ <3 <3 <3 _

It’s about as close to how Dr. Iplier's words make him feel as he can get.

“You're too cute,” Dr. Iplier laughs, letting go of Yandere's hand. “Now, can you tell me what happened? I want to see if you’re experiencing any memory loss.” He pauses. “That, and I do actually want to know what happened. We walked into quite the scene earlier.”

Yandere's brow furrows again as he writes.

_ We? _

“Everyone at the meeting could hear the noises coming from the dojo,” Dr. Iplier explains, “Dark and Google got there first.” He shakes his head. “They'd still be there yelling at each other if I hadn't shown up. They wanted someone to blame for what happened to you and Chrome, but they couldn't exactly ask you two what was going on.”

Yandere definitely remembers what happened. He begins to write, laying the notepad on his lap for Dr. Iplier to read each word as it comes. Yandere shudders a little as he writes, thinking about Chrome's hands around his neck and that damn kanabo he should've realized was loose from the wall.

_ We were sparring and a kanabo fell off the wall! It’s like a big baseball bat with spikes. It hit Chrome in the head and hurt him really bad. He started glitching and I think his objectives got scrambled or something? He got this really blank expression on his face, and he chased me down and fought me and strangled me! I probably could've defended myself because he kept glitching, but I didn't want to hurt him worse! Especially since I'm the one who slammed him into the wall, and I didn't notice the kanabo coming loose, and I tried to get help but he pulled me back to the dojo and I couldn't _

“Hey,” Dr. Iplier says softly, placing a hand over Yandere's furiously scribbling one, stilling it. “It’s okay, it wasn't your fault. You can't predict the future, you didn't know all that would happen.” He rubs his thumb over Yandere’s hand as he continues. “I had a feeling it was some freak accident that got you two hurt.”

As much as Yandere feels comforted by Dr. Iplier's hand over his, he moves out if his grip to write again.

_ Is Aka-kun okay? _

“Well, he’s not dying,” Dr. Iplier says, “But he's as bad off as you. The–” He looks at Yandere's notepad again. “–Kanabo did a number on him, according to the other Googles. It might take him longer to heal than you, just because of all the complicated parts he needs fixed and replaced. They probably won't wake him up until he's nearly repaired.”

Yandere writes again as a sinking feeling spreads through his stomach.

_ It hurt him that bad? _

“It wasn’t just the kanabo,” Dr. Iplier admits, “There was also…well, I might get in trouble for telling you this, but Dark threw Chrome into the wall when he found you.”

Yandere whips his head towards Dr. Iplier, so fast it sets off a new wave of pain in his neck. The shock on his face is somewhat cut by his wince, but his feelings are clear all the same.

“In his defense,” Dr. Iplier explains, “Chrome _ was  _ still strangling you when he got there. He wanted to protect you, but he certainly wasn’t gentle about it. Chrome’s head injury is worse, but getting thrown into the wall still did some damage.”

Yandere frowns, as much as he can with his bandages.

_ Are you sure he’ll be okay? _

Dr. Iplier smiles sympathetically as he reads Yandere’s words.

“I’m sure he will,” he says, leaning forward and kissing Yandere’s forehead. “He’s even tougher than you are, and the Googles know what they’re doing.” Yandere continues to stare at the doctor expectantly, so he sighs and continues. “And his time was still blue, kid. If I thought he was dying, I promise I’d tell you.”

Yandere feels a lot better to hear that, but there’s still guilt lingering in the pit of his stomach. He can’t help but feel like the whole thing was his fault, that he should’ve seen that kanabo was close to falling. He could’ve stopped Chrome from getting hurt, and he could’ve stopped himself from getting hurt, too. And who knows how Chrome will feel when he wakes up? Will he even remember what happened? Yandere almost hopes he doesn’t.

“How about I let Dark and Wilford know you’re okay?” Dr. Iplier asks Yandere, snapping him out of his reverie. “Dark’s pretty worried, and Wilford, well…he’s not that worried, to be honest, but you know how he is. He’ll be glad to see you awake. Dark is out in the waiting room, and so was Wilford last I checked.”

Yandere gives a small nod. Hearing their names makes him realize how much he wants to see them, too.

Wilford ends up coming in first, hugging Yandere tight and practically lifting him out of the bed.

“There you are, kiddo!” he laughs, “I knew you’d be alright.” He pulls away enough to look at Yandere and wink. “Dark and Doc are old worrywarts, but I did my best to set them straight!”

“For God’s sake Wilford, be _ careful  _ with him,” Dr. Iplier scolds, “The poor kid’s still healing; swinging him around like that isn’t going to make him feel any better.”

As happy as Yandere is to see Wilford and get one of his bear hugs, he has to admit that it’s made him pretty dizzy and set up a dull ache at the back of his head. The happy yet dazed expression on his face reflects that.

“Fine, Fun-Ruiner,” Wilford huffs, putting Yandere back on the hospital bed. Dark approaches as Dr. Iplier helps Yandere get back under the covers.

“Have a little decorum, Wil,” Dark sighs, “Yandere’s been through a lot today.” When he looks to Yandere, his gaze is warm, and Yandere’s heart flutters at the sight.

“Well, I’m gonna go back to my studio,” Wilford says, “Where I can do things without getting yelled at.” He pats Yandere on the head, miraculously avoiding his injury. “Get well soon, kiddo. Studio work is more fun when you’re there!”

Yandere beams, or tries to, anyway, as Dark and Dr. Iplier roll their eyes at Wilford’s petulance. Wilford teleports away, leaving the three alone.

“I’m glad you’re alright, love,” Dark says, giving Yandere a gentle smile as he sits in the chair beside his bed. Yandere scoots closer to him without even thinking about it, eagerly snuggling against him as Dark wraps his arms around him. Dark doesn’t make any sound, but Yandere can feel the chuckle rumbling through his chest against his cheek. Yandere can’t help his smile as he feels Dark kissing the top of his head. He then lifts his head to address Dr. Iplier.

“How is he right now? I’m already aware he can’t speak…”

“He’s on some pretty good painkillers, so the pain should be minimal,” Dr. Iplier answers, “Though, I wouldn’t say he’s comfortable. He hasn’t exactly complained so far, little trooper that he is.” He grins at Yandere, and Yandere returns it as best he can. He pulls away from Dark so he can write on his notepad again, tearing off the old page to start a new one.

_ I’m pretty sore, but it’s not too bad! It’s definitely not comfortable, no. Mostly because of all these bandages, I can’t even move my mouth that much without stuff pulling. _

“Sounds about right,” Dr. Iplier says. He speaks to Dark again. “I told him already, but it’ll be a few days before he can start to talk. I’m not going to let him overdo it.”

“Good,” Dark replies. He looks back to Yandere. “I imagine you’re exhausted, so I won’t stay long.” He cups Yandere’s uninjured cheek with one hand, and Yandere feels it start to heat up with blush. “But I have to ask, love…what on earth  _ happened? _ ”

Yandere’s expression subdues as he takes up his notepad to answer. He’s beginning to realize how little he likes thinking about what happened.

_ A weapon fell off the wall and hit him in the head. It did something to his brain, his objectives got messed up and he didn’t recognize me. He attacked me and I tried to get to the control room, but he was faster, and I couldn’t defend myself without hurting him worse. _

Yandere pauses for a moment, then scribbles on.

_ Speaking of hurting him worse, you didn’t have to throw him into a wall, Yami! You really hurt him >:( _

“He told you about that, then,” Dark says evenly, eyes briefly flicking to Dr. Iplier before focusing back on Yandere. “I’ll admit that I was rather rough, but…” Dark takes Yandere’s hand, the one holding the pen, in his, and brings it to his lips. “…All I saw was Chrome on top of you, strangling you, and I simply reacted.” He lightly kisses Yandere’s hand. “Surely you forgive me, darling?”

Yandere blushes at Dark’s gentle touches, and nods with a soft smile. Dark lets his hand go, and Yandere writes again.

_ Of course I forgive you, Yami! <3 <3 <3 _

Dark smiles.

“I’m glad,” he murmurs, leaning forward and kissing Yandere’s forehead. “I’ll go and let you rest, but I’ll be back soon to check on you.” He bends slightly, towards the uninjured side of Yandere’s mouth, and so, so gently kisses the corner of Yandere’s lips. “Take care, love.”

Yandere, cheeks aflame, smiles as hard as he can and squirms in place, too charmed to contain himself. Dark chuckles before teleporting away, leaving Yandere with a warmth in his chest to contrast with the lingering chill of Dark’s aura.

“For once I agree with Dark,” Dr. Iplier says, approaching Yandere's bedside again. “You definitely need to rest right now. It'll help you heal faster, and…” Dr. Iplier grins. “…Let's be honest, there's not much else you can do.”

Yandere rolls his eyes at Dr. Iplier's cheeky smile, but he has to admit he could use a nap. He hasn't been awake very long but he already feels worn out and ready to sleep for a while. He snuggles into bed, getting as comfortable as he can manage with all the bandages on his face and head.

“I'll be working around the clinic so I might not be next to you when you wake up,” Dr. Iplier tells him, “But I'll check on you every so often, and you've done this song and dance before, you know how to get my attention if you need me.” His smile turns soft. “Sleep easy, hon.” He kisses Yandere's forehead. “I love you.”

Yandere is suddenly too tired to grab his notebook, but he hopes his own smile is enough of a “love you, too.”

A few moments later, Yandere is asleep.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> The way Doc and Dark interact with Yan is full of little parallels and differences, and the way Dark talks to Yan in general is pretty purposeful. Since Doc became Yan's father figure, I've come up with a whole dynamic between Doc and Dark that I have yet to explore. But I gave a bit of a taste here that I hope is noticeable ;3
> 
> See you Tuesday!


	4. Chapter 4

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I think it's about time to check on Chrome, huh? Yan thinks so, too, or at least most of him does...
> 
> Enjoy!

Yandere sighs as he looks at himself in the mirror.

He’s not completely healed yet, but he’s much better than he was a week ago. Figments naturally heal fast, and Yandere is no exception. He’d heal faster if he were more popular, but he supposes he should be grateful. The bruises on his neck are long gone, and the tear in his esophagus has healed over. The screws and plates in his jaw are almost ready to be removed, and most of the cuts in his mouth and on his cheek are gone. His head wound is still there, but instead of a huge swath of bandages, there’s a bandage just big enough to cover his stitches and a single layer of gauze keeping it attached to his head. Yandere’s jaw and head still ache occasionally, but it’s mostly ignorable now. He’s also able to talk again, now that his throat is better. Dr. Iplier still insists that he be careful with his voice, but Yandere thinks that’s just the nervous parent in him talking. Yandere’s past the period where his voice was raspy and speaking was painful, so he suspects he has nothing to fear.

There’s also the fact that Dr. Iplier has kept him in the clinic up until now.

The mirror he’s looking into isn’t the one in his room; it’s the one in the clinic bathroom. He hadn’t gotten many opportunities to see his face while he was worse, so he’s taking a minute to look at himself before he goes.

“How do you feel?” Dr. Iplier asks him, “I can practically see the smoke coming out of your ears.” Yandere snorts.

“I feel fine, Dad,” he answers, “The stitches are kinda itchy, though, and I can feel all the metal in my mouth.”

“Yeah, that’s how it usually goes,” Dr. Iplier says, “I imagine you’re pretty used to that kind of thing by now, though.”

“The stitches, yeah. I can’t remember the last time I broke my jaw, though.”

Dr. Iplier thinks for a moment.

“It was a few months ago, I think. More than a few; it was that time you came back delirious and half-dead.”

Yandere grins wryly, looking at Dr. Iplier out of the corner of his eye.

“You’ll have to be more specific.”

Dr. Iplier laughs and shakes his head.

“Mm, I guess so. I can’t even tell you to be more careful because it was a freak accident this time.” He looks closer at Yandere. “You sure you’re alright, though? You’ve been so antsy to get out of here for the past few days, I thought you’d be more excited now.”

Truthfully, it isn’t just his healing injuries that Yandere’s thinking about. No matter how many times Yandere hears someone calls what happened “an accident,” he can’t help but feel like it was his fault. He spends so much time in the dojo; not just having fun, but maintaining it, keeping the place clean and making sure nothing’s broken. The weapons along the wall are attached securely, so that kanabo couldn’t have just fallen down from one slam to the wall. It had to have shown signs of loosening earlier, signs that Yandere didn’t notice. If he’d noticed, he would’ve fixed it or taken it down, and then it wouldn’t have smashed into Chrome and hurt him so badly it screwed up his objectives and made him glitch.

(Maybe Yandere’s also thinking about the nightmare he had a couple nights ago. How he dreamed of Chrome’s hands wringing the life out of him, how he dreamed he could hear his own neck cracking and snapping, one vertebrae at a time. Dr. Iplier shook him awake and Yandere was told he’d been screaming. He’d asked Yandere what he dreamed about, but Yandere gave no response, whether written or spoken. He’s tried to put it out of his mind, but the fear lingers, so far down he can barely perceive it.)

“I’m okay,” Yandere replies to Dr. Iplier, “I just…I’m gonna go see Chrome, and…he’s still hurt, isn’t he?”

“Well, so are you,” Dr. Iplier points out. He walks up to Yandere and ruffles his hair. “I’m no mechanic, but from what I saw of him, he was as hurt about as bad as you were. The Googles are just waiting until he’s completely better to wake him up, and once they do, it’ll be like he was never hurt at all.” He smiles down at Yandere. “You know, as crazy as you are, kiddo, you have a lot of empathy packed into that heart of yours.” He pulls him close with one arm and kisses the top of his head.

“Daaaad,” Yandere giggles, playfully shoving Dr. Iplier away.

“Alright, alright,” Dr. Iplier laughs, releasing him, “Get outta here, you. Go check on Chrome and catch up with Dark and Wil.”

“I will!” Yandere stands on his toes to touch noses with Dr. Iplier. “Thanks for everything, Dad.”

“Anything for you, hon,” Dr. Iplier replies fondly.

Once Yandere leaves the clinic, it barely takes a minute to get to the control room. He’s always found it convenient that the two places are so close, and while that’s still true, he almost wishes they weren’t.

(It’s too close. Too close like two hands on his neck.)

His desperate need to see for himself that Chrome is okay is matched by his nerves. He’s seen Chrome get hurt before; they’ve had sparring incidents in the past. But those times were minor gashes, or deep bruises, or the occasional broken bone. Nothing like this. Yandere’s never seen Chrome badly hurt before, and he has no idea what to expect. He half-wonders if the other Googles will even let him in.

(He might not be disappointed if they don’t).

That turns out to be a wasted worry, though, because Oliver ends up being the one who answers his hesitant knock.

“Hey, Yandere!” he greets, “How’re you feeling?”

“Pretty good,” Yandere answers. Oliver’s chipper attitude puts him slightly at ease, but not by much. “Is Chrome, I mean, can I…?”

“You can see him, come on in!” Oliver replies, pulling open the door all the way. “He’s still in shutdown mode, though, so he can’t really talk to you or anything.”

(Chrome had strangled Yandere silently, without uttering a word, even as Yandere writhed and sputtered.)

“That’s okay,” Yandere mumbles as he’s led inside.

Oliver leads Yandere through the control room, past where Google is tinkering with something on a table. He glances at Yandere for a moment before looking back at his work. Oliver takes Yandere to the back wall, where there’s four doors right in a row. Yandere already knows which one leads to Chrome’s room; he’s been in it enough times. When Oliver opens the door, Yandere can’t help but gasp at what he sees.

Chrome is sat on the edge of his bed, body slumped, head down, hair over his eyes. The gash in his head is more like a hole, now: The damaged skin and skull plates have been removed, revealing the wires and chips that make up Chrome’s brain. Plus is standing beside him in gloves and a protective mask, crouched and brandishing tools, poking around inside Chrome’s head. The room smells like motor oil and burnt metal. If Chrome’s head were whole, he’d look like he merely fell asleep sitting up. Instead, he looks like he’s already dead.

(He looks like a machine, a thing made to kill.)

Yandere’s afraid to get close at first, but Oliver walks right up to Plus.

(Yandere is afraid, period.)

“How’re you doing?” Oliver asks Plus. Plus pauses and pulls up his mask to answer.

“Acceptable,” he says, “How soon will the muscle regulator be done? It’ll be easier to work with it back in, and it’s already been nearly twenty-four hours.”

“Really soon,” Oliver answers. His sunny grin falters just a bit. “Google decided to scrap the old one, so we’ve been modifying a new default model for Chrome. But we’re almost done.”

“I hoped we could’ve fixed the old one,” Plus sighs, “But I suppose it can’t be helped.” He looks over at Yandere. “You’re here to see Chrome?”

(Is it too late to say no?)

“Yeah, I mean,” Yandere starts, nervous all over again, “I don’t want to mess you up or anything…”

“You won’t.” Plus shrugs. “I doubt you’ll do anything reckless with him or get in the way.”

“Well then, I’ll leave you guys be!” Oliver says, “I’ll be helping Google finish up the regulator.”

He leaves the room then, shutting the door behind him, and leaving Yandere on one end of the room and Plus and Chrome on the other.

(If something happens, Plus is the only one here to stop it.)

For a long moment, Yandere can’t bring himself to close the distance. It’s  _ unnerving _ to see Chrome like this. The Chrome he knows brushes off every injury, no matter how bad it looks or how much Yandere frets. And Yandere, despite not minding–no, relishing in–gore when he sees it from humans, almost feels sick at the sight of Chrome’s open head, at the mechanical innards he can see even from a distance. He can’t help but think about the fact that Chrome is six months younger than he is; not that long for humans, but an eternity for egos as young as Yandere and Chrome are. Chrome is so often the protective one of the two because he’s strong enough to be, but he’s  _ young, _ and it twists Yandere up to see him hurt like this, to know that he caused it. But Yandere remembers how Chrome always comes to see  _ him _ when  _ he _ gets hurt, no matter how bad it is. Yandere has no doubt that Chrome would’ve visited him more than once over the past week while Yandere was healing if he’d been able. So, eventually, Yandere takes a breath and crosses the room to Chrome’s side, across from where Plus is working on him.

Plus is laser-focused on whatever he’s doing to help Chrome, and Yandere doubts he’d even notice if Yandere turned around and walked out of the room. Despite his resolve to be here for Chrome, he’s almost tempted. Up close, he can see Chrome’s closed eyes through his bangs, see his relaxed but unnatural expression. It reminds him too much of the blank look on Chrome’s face from a week ago. Still, he reaches out, tentative, and makes a token attempt to brush some hair out of Chrome eyes. It falls right back down, of course, but Yandere feels some of the tension in his gut ebb away. Chrome still feels like Chrome, and nothing terrible happened from Yandere’s touch.

(Chrome didn’t spring to life to hurt him again.)

Feeling a bit braver now, Yandere reaches down and takes Chrome’s hand in both of his. He’s always found it strange how they can be based on the same person yet still have such different body types. Chrome’s hand is bigger than Yandere’s, heavier, stronger-looking.

(It still has marks on it, shallow gouges from Yandere’s fingernails. The Googles must be focused on fixing the important issues before addressing cosmetic repairs.)

Even now it radiates a small amount of warmth, and more tension leaves Yandere to feel it. It’s a subtle reassurance that Chrome is alive, that even though he’s hurt, he’s at least okay, and his core is still bright and whirring in his chest.

Yandere holds Chrome’s hand to his own chest, over his heart, and before he knows it, he’s talking to him.

Not about anything important, at first. He talks as though he or Chrome was away for a week and now they have to catch up. He tells him what recovery was like, about using the notebook to communicate, about how hard it was to eat and laugh and get comfortable. He tells him how Dr. Iplier kept him in bed for so long, how he only just left the clinic today, about the screws and stitches he has yet to get removed. But eventually he runs out of things about his recovery to talk about, and moves on to apologies. Apologies for not noticing the kanabo before, for not being fast enough to get Chrome help, for being the cause of their predicament and not being able to stop it from getting worse. At the back of his mind, he supposes it’s good practice to apologize now, to sort out what he’ll say later when Chrome is awake. He keeps switching between English and Japanese, too mired on his own thoughts and the weight of Chrome’s hand in his to focus on using one alone. If Plus is listening in he gives no sign of it, but Yandere soon stops caring about whether Plus is paying attention.

For a long while, it’s just Yandere and Chrome alone together, and though Yandere can’t relax completely, he does find a strange sense of serenity as he stands there, feeling only Chrome’s hand in his and hearing only his own voice talking softly.

Then abruptly, he feels and sees Chrome’s finger twitch in his grasp.

(A burst of fear accompanies the shock.)

He’s so alarmed he stops speaking mid-word. He looks from Chrome’s hand to Plus, who seems to have noticed the twitch.

“Is he…” Yandere breathes.

“No,” Plus answers, voice muffled through his mask, “My hand slipped, and it set off a nerve.”

“Oh…” Yandere mumbles, deflating.

(But a little relieved, somewhere deep down.)

“What…what is it you’re fixing, anyway?”

“Mostly it’s putting things together, making sure everything around where his muscle regulator goes is fixed and where it’s supposed to be.”

“That’s the thing Oliver and Google are working on, right?” Yandere furrows his brows, suddenly finding himself curious. “If Chrome doesn’t need it to move, then what is it for?”

“It’s to control involuntary movements.” Plus continues tinkering as he talks. “I would liken it to the human brain stem, that controls things like breathing and blinking. We don’t exactly have to do those things to survive, so we can afford to lose it for awhile.”

“So it’d stop him from twitching?”

“Yes, but it has other functions. It’s especially helpful during upgrades and updates. Without it, our bodies would move uncontrollably during our updates as the information and new functions are funneled into our systems, but with them, we can go about our day as normal. The rest of us had an automatic update yesterday, but we disconnected Chrome from the mainframe beforehand so we could fix his muscle regulator. In the state he’s in, he’s liable to damage himself with the involuntary movements.”

Yandere’s head is swimming with all the information. He has limited knowledge on the human body, but androids are an entirely different, much more complicated beast.

(The slightest things hold so much importance. The smallest changes can create disasters.)

His confusion must show on his face, because Plus sighs.

“I over-explained again, didn’t I? Google’s always telling me to stick to the point…”

“It’s fine,” Yandere assures him, “It’s just…a lot.” Chrome’s finger twitches again. “Oh, did you poke a nerve again?”

“No…” Plus says slowly, eyes narrowing like he’s frowning. He peers into Chrome’s head, pausing his hands. “He shouldn’t be moving unless I mess with the nerves, unless…” He moves away from Chrome’s head wound and looks at the back of his neck, palpating where his neck meets his skull. “We took him off the mainframe manually here, his tech was too damaged to do it wirelessly, but there’s a higher margin of error that way, and it’s easy for the slightest activity in the tech to–”

Chrome’s hand suddenly seizes, almost crushing Yandere’s hand in its grip. Yandere cries out half in pain, half in alarm.

(Not again, not again, not again, not again–)

“Fuck,  _ fuck– _ ” Plus spits out.

Chrome lurches, back arching. His head flings itself backwards, his hand pulls away from Yandere, his fingers curl unnaturally. His other arm appears locked, frozen straight at his side, fingers splayed too wide.

(Like they were over Yandere’s neck.)

“Oliver, Google!” Plus calls out sharply, “Chrome connected to the mainframe! I need that regulator  _ now!! _ ”

All Yandere can do is look on in horror, face turning white as Google barges into the room, with Oliver following closely behind. Google’s holding a small silver chip; is that little thing’s absence really the cause of this?

(The smallest changes can create disasters.)

“Is it finished?”

“It is, I wouldn’t give it to you if it wasn’t.”

“But we haven’t finished testing it–”

“Look at him, Oliver, there’s no  _ time– _ ”

“Both of you calm down, now is not the time to argue. Plus, put in the regulator, I’ll help you keep him still. Oliver, get Yandere out of here and then assist us with Chrome.”

“…Alright.”

“O-okay.” Oliver seems to take a deep breath, steeling himself and forcing a placid smile, before he strides over to Yandere, who’s still staring at Chrome’s contorting form with growing terror.

(Terror for whom?)

“Oliver–”

“You have to go now, Yandere,” Oliver says, as gently as he can manage, taking Yandere’s arm with one hand and laying the other on the small of Yandere’s back to guide him out. “This won’t be pretty, and we can’t afford any distractions.”

“But will he be okay??” Yandere asks, breathless, craning his head over his shoulder to look at Chrome as he’s led away. Google is trying to control his inconsistent seizing, Plus is trying to insert the regulator, and Chrome is still twisting, still flailing uncontrollably in Google’s grip. Yet, through it all, his eyes haven’t opened, and his face hasn’t changed. His expression is still relaxed even as his body lurches.

(It’s terrifying for a hundred reasons. Yandere’s worry is not dishonest, but neither is his fear.)

“We know what we’re doing, Red’s in good hands,” Oliver assures Yandere as he steers him out of Chrome’s room, and then out of the control room.

“Oliver…” Yandere says as he’s practically pushed out the door, tears in his eyes. Oliver falters for a moment, not shutting the door right away, smile fading.

“Sorry, Yandere,” he says, and Yandere can tell he means it, “Come back later, alright? Even if Chrome isn’t aware right now, it…I don’t know, I feel like it helps him to have a friend around.”

(Maybe it helps Yandere, too; he can’t tell yet.)

“Oliver, hurry up!!” Google calls from Chrome’s room. Oliver takes another breath, and pastes on another smile.

“Goodbye, Yandere,” he says, and shuts the door.

Yandere is left standing outside the control room, mind reeling, hands still clasped and laying against his heart, already missing Chrome’s hand between them.

(But deep down, deep where all the thoughts he can’t hear dwell, he’s glad to have let it go.)

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> ...
> 
> :D
> 
> Next chapter's the last one, so...pray for these bois ;w;
> 
> See you Thursday!


	5. Chapter 5

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> It's the last chapter! :D but also :'D I really liked writing this story; I haven't really written anything like it before.
> 
> Finally, we get to see how Chrome feels about this whole thing, and where him and Yan are going from here.
> 
> Enjoy!

A few days after Chrome’s accidental connection to the mainframe, the other Googles finally feel it’s time to connect him purposefully and let him wake up.

When Chrome wakes, there’s a moment of uncertainty, a moment where the other Googles are waiting to see if they’ve missed anything, a moment where Chrome doesn’t know what’s going on or how long it’s been.

But the moment passes quickly as Chrome filters through his database, his system automatically filling in the gaps of what day it is and making sure everything is working. In just that moment, Chrome understands how long it’s been since he was last aware, and his brothers understand that they can relax in the knowledge that Chrome is well.

“You’re awake!” Oliver says excitedly, unable to resist running at him and hugging him tight. Chrome staggers back a little from the force and awkwardly pats Oliver’s back in response.

“How do you feel?” Google asks, “Is everything in order?”

“I’m not detecting any abnormalities,” Chrome replies, “I feel…fine. I’d feel better with some space,” he adds, glancing at Oliver. Oliver lets him go at that, still shamelessly happy to see him.

“Do you…remember what happened?” Plus asks cautiously.

Chrome stiffens.

Does he remember. Of course he remembers.

He remembers being slammed into the wall of the dojo, remembers the kanabo driving itself into his skull. He remembers the pain, remembers blacking out and waking up _different_. He remembers his systems scrambling for purchase, remembers his body and hardware trying to figure themselves out. He remembers sorting through his objectives for grounding, remembers his jittery software combing through corrupted data. He remembers Yandere calling to him with worry the whole time. He remembers his system settling on his secondary objective, remembers his mind going blank. He remembers watching Yandere realize what was happening and feeling nothing in the face of his friend’s fear. He remembers chasing him down twice, remembers grabbing him twice, remembers dragging him back to the dojo because his glitchy software still recognized that the dojo was the best place for killing. He remembers fighting against Yandere with the kanabo, remembers that red hot desire to _kill him kill him kill him_ pouring through his veins. He remembers the glitches sending waves of pain through him, remembers Yandere pausing in tandem instead of seizing the opportunity to fight back. He remembers cracking the side of Yandere’s face into pieces with the kanabo, remembers getting on top of him to strangle him. He remembers Yandere’s violent struggling, remembers the panic in his eyes. He remembers the feel of Yandere’s pulse hammering against his palms, remembers Yandere, even in his last conscious moments, begging Chrome to stop. He remembers squeezing so hard he broke something in Yandere’s throat, remembers Yandere’s mouth gaping and his body twitching as he started to suffocate. He remembers watching Yandere’s eyes roll back into his head, remembers feeling him go still, remembers searching his database to determine how much longer he had to strangle Yandere to make sure he stayed down forever. He remembers Dark finding him and throwing into a wall but he hardly cares, because he remembers bludgeoning and strangling his best friend and watching him slowly start to die and feeling nothing, not a shred of mercy, not a drop of memory about what Yandere meant to him.

“I remember,” is all he says to Plus.

He must have done a poor job disguising his feelings on the matter, because a layer of tension suddenly descends on the room, and there’s a beat of silence.

“Well, you don’t have to worry, Yandere’s completely fine,” Oliver says quickly, “He left the clinic and visited you a few days ago, actually.” He grimaces. “It, um, got cut a little short ‘cause there was a problem with an update and your muscle regulator, but the point is, Yandere’s okay. He’ll be happy to see you’re okay, too!”

Chrome isn’t so sure. Yandere was so _afraid_ of him, and he had every right to be. Yandere may be okay now, but Chrome almost _killed_ him, and he knows he would’ve if Dark hadn’t stopped him. Yandere hadn’t even been able to bring himself to hurt Chrome in self-defense. Chrome can recall numerous times where Yandere could’ve subdued him, or at least bought himself some time with a hit. But he never took those opportunities, no doubt because he didn’t want to hurt Chrome worse than he already was. A part of Chrome wants to be mad at Yandere for not defending himself properly, but it’s drowned out by every other part of him, each one mad at himself.

“Chrome, your thousand-yard-stare is unnerving all of us,” Google sighs, running a hand down his face, “Go talk to Yandere before you implode.”

“There’s nothing to talk about with him,” Chrome snaps, “I tried to _kill_ him.”

“So?” Google counters, “You know Yandere; he’d find some way to forgive you even if you _had_ killed him. He can’t be mad at you for more than ten minutes, we all know that.”

“This is different,” Chrome mutters, “This is so far beyond any argument we’ve had or any time we accidentally hurt each other sparring.”

“Yandere did visit you, Chrome,” Plus interjects, “Oliver was right, Yandere came in the day Dr. Iplier let him leave the clinic to see you.” He pauses, as though he isn’t sure he should continue, but he ultimately does: “He held your hand for half an hour and just _talked_ to you. He asked me a bunch of questions about what we were doing to fix you. He was obviously really worried about you, and I’m sure he still is.”

Chrome purses his lips, but doesn’t answer. Just because Yandere forgives him doesn’t mean he deserves it.

“Look, Red,” Oliver begins, smiling gently, “I know you feel guilty, but I also know you’ll just feel guiltier if you avoid Yandere knowing how much he wants to see you. As much as I want you to hang out here all day so I can hug you and hear you gripe at me, and how much Google and Plus want that too, even if they won’t admit it–” Google sighs, Plus sputters. “–we all know you’ll be much better off talking to Yandere first. I’m the one here who knows how emotions work,” Oliver continues, putting a hand on Chrome’s chest over his core, “And trust me when I say you need to get what you’re feeling off your chest. And it won’t mean anything to you and your wellbeing if you tell it to us. You have to talk to Yandere for your own sake, the sooner the better.”

Chrome looks away. He hates it when Oliver’s right.

“Fine,” he mutters, “I’ll talk to him.”

“Good,” Oliver replies with a grin.

“Hopefully you’ll have that stick out of your ass when you come back,” Google gripes.

“Blue!” Oliver gasps, offended.

“Red always has a stick up his ass,” Plus puts in, “Even when he feels fine.”

_“Green!!”_ Oliver cries.

Chrome can’t find it in himself to be offended as he watches his brothers bicker, but he does manage a tiny grin.

~~~

Chrome isn’t used to not knowing something.

He’s a sentient search engine, he’s an android with access to every bit of information humanity has ever discovered. In mere moments he can find the answer to almost anything, or determine the best advice, or learn anything at all.

Yet, even with the world’s knowledge at his fingertips, Chrome has no idea what to say to Yandere.

He’s on his way to his friend’s ( _are they still friends?_ Can _they still be friends?_ ) room, mulling over how he’s going to apologize and how he’s going to begin making up for what he’s done. He isn’t surprised to know that Yandere is worried about him, but it’s easy to worry about someone when they’re hurt. But concern doesn’t come as easily when that someone is okay again, and that someone nearly killed you a week and a half ago. Yandere’s brushed off every small injury he’s gotten from sparring in the past, but how can he brush off almost being murdered by his best friend? Chrome remembers the fear in his face, remembers how he ran the instant he realized what was wrong with Chrome. The worst part is that Chrome can’t even blame him. Frankly, if Yandere never wanted to speak to him again, it would be his right to, and Chrome would understand. The biggest question isn’t whether or not Yandere will forgive him–although it is admittedly a big question–but whether Chrome even _deserves_ to be forgiven.

Chrome can’t find the answer to that in his database, but he’s inclined to say no.

He’s so deep in his own head he doesn’t realize he’s not the only person in the hallway until he hears a gasp.

He looks up, and of course, why _wouldn’t_ it be Yandere?

True to his brothers’ word, Yandere looks fine. He looks like he was never injured in the first place. But what does that matter after all that happened?

“Aka-kun! You’re okay!!” Yandere exclaims, a grin lighting up his face. He starts running to Chrome, closing the distance between them, no doubt wanting to hug him.

Chrome looks away, keeping his arms at his sides. A hug doesn’t feel deserved right now, it doesn’t feel _safe_. He knows it’s irrational, but he can’t help but fear that he’ll hurt Yandere again; that something will happen or something in his systems will break and he’ll finish what he started in the dojo. Still, he expects Yandere to hug him anyway, as he is wont to do.

But instead, he hears Yandere’s running steps halt. He looks up in confusion to see Yandere standing a few feet away, twisting the hem of his shirt in his hands, a sad and anxious expression on his face.

“I’m…I…” Yandere starts, then pauses, pursing his lips. He thinks another moment, sighs, and tries again. “I didn’t…I’m sorry.”

Chrome’s eyes go wide and his confusion layers with shock.

“What?” he says before he can stop himself.

“What happened, it…” Yandere says, taking in a shuddering breath. _He’s going to cry,_ Chrome thinks in disbelief. “It was preventable,” Yandere continues, “If I’d maintained the dojo better, or noticed, or…just, _realized_ the kanabo was unstable…” He sniffles. “It wouldn’t have fallen, or–oh! If I hadn’t p-pushed you into the wall, th-that too…” He tries to giggle, but it sounds like a sob. He scrubs at his eyes and takes another deep breath. “I never ever wanted either of us to get hurt, e-especially not y-you, I didn’t…” He ducks his head, looks up again. “I’m…sorry. Aka-kun, I’m sorry.” He stares at Chrome with teary eyes. The irises aren’t bright red yet, but they’re not their normal chocolate either.

Yandere, Chrome realizes, is trying _so hard_ not to lose his composure. He’s trying so hard not to just burst into tears. His hands are fidgeting again, a sure sign that he’s desperately restraining himself from reaching out to Chrome. Yandere’s fighting to stay in control of his feelings, and for what? He’s never held back his emotions from Chrome before, not since their friendship was developing and new and Chrome had said something cruel. Is that what this is? Is Yandere afraid to show Chrome emotion now? But why does he have such emotion to hide in the first place? Chrome can tell just from looking at him, from his system’s automatic analysis of Yandere’s expression and tears: Yandere is crying because he’s sad, because he’s in despair, and if he’s afraid of anything at all, it’s rejection. Rejection from _Chrome,_ of all people. He’d be better off if Chrome rejected him, as far as Chrome’s concerned.

“What the hell are you sorry for?” Chrome asks, incredulous and a little angry, because he doesn’t know what else to be. “Why are _you_ apologizing to _me??_ ”

Yandere blinks, surprise denting his sadness.

“I…caused this,” Yandere says, “I almost got you killed.”

“You think that means you _deserved_ what happened?” Chrome asks, accusing, “You think you _deserved_ getting beaten with a kanabo and strangled? All because you didn’t perfectly examine the dojo before we sparred??”

“I–” Yandere tries, shrinking back slightly.

“Yandere, I tried to _kill_ you, don’t you get that!?” Chrome shouts, anger sharpening his tone, “I _wanted_ to kill you! If no one had shown up I would have!! Do you think that I was still _me_ somewhere in there? That my personality was trapped in the back of my mind when my secondary objective came online?? Do you think I watched myself killing you and tried to stop it?? Because I _didn’t,_ Yandere, that’s not how it works!!” A note of desperation enters Chrome’s voice. “The moment I woke up, my only goal was to destroy mankind. I had _nothing else_ going on in my head. I saw you, and I wanted, I _needed_ to kill you. Oh, but it’s not that I didn’t know who you were,” Chrome adds with a bitter, shaky laugh, “I knew _exactly_ who you were. I knew exactly what your strengths and weaknesses were, I knew your blind spots, I knew how fast you could run. I knew fucking _everything,_ and I used what I knew to try to kill you.” Chrome runs his hands through his hair, ends up gripping the sides of his head. “While I was strangling you, I knew how much pressure it would take to snap your neck, and the only reason I didn’t was that I was having too much _fun_ . I was having _fun_ murdering you. I watched you dying in front of me and I was already wondering who to kill next.” Chrome’s hands leave his head to return to his sides, balling into fists. “So I’m gonna fucking ask you again: _What the hell are you sorry for?_ ”

Yandere doesn’t speak, he only stares. His eyes are wide, and his jaw hangs open. It takes him a long moment to compose himself, and even then, it’s clear he doesn’t know what to say.

“ _I’m_ the one who’s sorry,” Chrome mutters, suddenly exhausted, “I’m so fucking sorry, but I know it doesn’t matter. I know “sorry” doesn’t even _begin_ to cover it. And honestly, I already know why you’re sorry. You’re sorry because you’re you, and you blame yourself for everything, but Yandere, just this once, _please_ blame the person who’s actually in the wrong.”

Yandere’s expression falls.

“You’re my _friend,_ Aka-kun–”

“That doesn’t mean I didn’t do something terrible.”

“It wasn’t your fault!”

“It wasn’t yours, either! You can’t predict the future!”

“You almost died, too, you know! You were hurt longer than I was!!”

“I was hurt because a kanabo fell on my head, _you_ were hurt because I tried to kill you!”

“But you _didn’t,_ I’m _fine!_ ”

“That doesn’t mean it didn’t happen!!”

“Aka-kun, _please,_ listen to me for a second!!”

All at once, Chrome realizes that Yandere’s right in front of him, barely a foot away. He hadn’t even realized Yandere was coming closer. He doesn’t walk any further, though, remaining still as he sighs.

“I’ve thought about all that,” Yandere admits, “About everything. About what happened and your part in it, and about how it makes me feel.” He looks down like he’s ashamed. “I had a couple nightmares about it, I…I was scared to see you while you healing, partly because I didn’t want to see you hurt, but partly because I was _afraid,_ even if I couldn’t admit it to myself. Once I knew you were gonna be okay and I really thought about it, I…” He laughs a little, subdued and quiet. “I talked to Dad for a while. I didn’t _want_ to be scared of you, I didn’t want one awful thing to ruin everything good between us. I thought about it and I talked about it, and…I just…” He looks back up at Chrome. “I’d _still_ rather blame myself than you, but I understand, I _know_ it was an accident. I know that neither of us should blame anybody, I’m just…I’m still internalizing it. What happened to us is never going to happen again. It was just…like, a perfect storm of bad coincidences. And I don’t want us blaming ourselves or each other over coincidences.” He sighs. “We just…we have to trust each other. And ourselves.”

“How?” Chrome asks, voice hollow. “How am I…How am I supposed to trust myself with you now?”

“By jumping in,” Yandere says simply.

Before Chrome can reply, Yandere reaches out, taking both of Chrome’s hands in his.

Chrome’s core stutters, hitching so loud Chrome is sure Yandere can hear it. But he doesn’t react, he doesn’t even look at him. He stares at Chrome’s hands, like he’s waiting for something. Chrome stands stiff, doesn’t even hold Yandere’s hands back. He realizes he’s too afraid to.

Slowly, Yandere lifts Chrome’s hands, bringing them higher and closer, until Chrome’s palms are lying against either side of Yandere’s neck.

If Chrome’s systems were concerned before, they’re full-on panicking now. His nervous system is screaming at him to pull away, to let go, to wrench his hands away from Yandere’s neck before something horrible happens. He can feel his core flaring up with anxiety, fear, dread, things Chrome isn’t used to feeling. He wonders if the emotional overload might make him glitch, and the thought of glitching only makes his emotions run higher. He doesn’t want to hurt him, he doesn’t want to hurt him again–

“Aka-kun,” Yandere says, finally breaking the silence.

It’s as if he could sense Chrome getting too caught up in his own head. The simple mention of his name brings Chrome back, grounds him, makes him focus on what his senses are telling him and not what his mind is screaming at him.

He can feel Yandere’s neck against his hand, feel his pulse thrumming away. He can feel Yandere’s hands over his, holding on loosely but tight enough to stop Chrome from immediately pulling away if he tries. He can see Yandere’s expression, see the lingering fear, but also the calm, the care, the love. Yandere’s eyes close, and he breathes in. When he opens his eyes again, they’re bright red.

“I’m still a little scared of you,” Yandere whispers, “But I’m more scared of losing you.”

Chrome can tell. Yandere’s scared of him like he feared, but it’s clear he’s much more scared that this won’t work, scared that they’re each too far gone in guilt and blame to love each other like before.

Yandere breathes in again, shaky, and smiles. A few tears escape his eyes, tracing down his cheeks.

“It’s okay,” he murmurs, “It’s okay.”

_We have to trust each other._

Chrome feels a keen ache in his chest, feels tears well up in his own eyes.

_And ourselves._

They stay like that, soaking in the moment, relearning how to feel, for what seems like years.

Finally, Yandere speaks again, breaking the spell.

“I forgive you,” he whispers, “I…I forgive me.”

At last, Chrome moves his hands, but only to put one around Yandere’s shoulders and one on his back to pull him close. The remaining distance between them is finally closed as Chrome hugs Yandere tight, and Yandere hugs him back.

“I forgive you,” Chrome repeats, voice shaky, “I’ll…I’ll try to forgive myself. I d-don’t know if I can yet.”

“That’s okay,” Yandere murmurs, beginning to rub Chrome’s back with one hand, “No matter what, you’re my friend, and I love you.”

Chrome buries his face in Yandere’s shoulder.

“I love you, too,” he whispers.

If Chrome lets a few tears slip out of his eyes and into Yandere’s shirt, no one knows but the two of them, and no one points it out.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> These...boys...I love...;w;
> 
> I debated writing something up and sticking it between this chap and the one before, but I thought it would've made it too Yandere-focused, plus I need to teach myself to leave some stuff to the imagination instead of dictating every little detail.
> 
> I hoped you liked this fic as much as I did writing it! Even if you didn't, thanks for sticking with it this far :p I hope to write and post something else in the next couple weeks, so see you then maybe! :D

**Author's Note:**

> If you like my writing, let me know! Kudos and comments are always welcome ^-^


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